Two Worlds, Two Twins
by Rhaxma
Summary: The twins are now fourteen, and they are able to think boldly for themselves. But they don't just have themselves on their minds.... ZackxCodyx..? May be slash in later chapers. First Fic.
1. Chapter 1: Just me or You?

Chapter One

Zack and Cody Martin stood with a small crowd of kids behind Lakeview High School, where the football and softball fields were located. They were taking a new course called Project Adventure. Right now they were practicing the balancing line, where nylon ropes were suspended a few feet above the ground and attached to trees. A line of people made their way across the line, balancing.

Suddenly, a small boy lost is balance and fell in the saw dirt covering the area.

The coach helped the boy up. "Go to the end of the line and start over. The rest of you keep going. You get a grade for just trying, so don't worry."

Zack stood on the line, with perfect balance, while Cody was tipping and trembling on the line.

"Oh come on Cody. All you do is stand on this thick line. It's not that hard." Zack stared at his brother, whose hands were going in circles, his legs wobbling on the line._ I don't really blame Cody. But he really does look like one of the girls right now._

Cody, finally getting a hold of balance, looked up at his brother with his eyes narrowed.

"Well I'm sorry, Mr. I'm great at every athletic thing. I might look like you, but I'm not exactly you if you know what I mean." Cody snapped back, surprisingly keeping his balance while doing so. _He's so obnoxious; he's just obsessed with himself. I wish he'd stop thinking that I'm exactly like him. I know we're twins, but we're not clones!_

Zack rolled his eyes and scooted ahead, while Cody inched his way along the line.

_Well, at least he's finally doing SOMETHING right._ Zack looked at his brother making his way along the tightrope.

Suddenly Cody wobbled and fell off the tightrope. Zack's reflexes made one of his hands clench his brother's hand before he fell all the way in the dirt, but Cody's weight was too much for Zack, who was pulled down along with his brother.

Piled on each other in the dirt, Zack stared straight into Cody's eyes, still wide from the shock of the fall. Each of the twins had three seconds of an awkward moment. Zack suddenly jumped up and scowled at his brother. "Cody, you klutz. Thanks for breaking my fall."

_Whoa, what was up with that? Damn, I hope no one saw me fall on top of him._

Zack dusted the dirt off his gym shorts, while Cody got up slowly.

"Zack, what do you weigh, two tons? Jeeze, you almost squashed me flat under there."

_Whoa, did I just feel emotion for Zack? But I'm not gay! I think..._

Zack smirked at Cody and looked at everyone else.

"Well, he IS my 'little' brother."

Cody crossed his arms while everyone else looked away and minded their own business.

I'm only a few seconds younger than him! Oh forget it, he'll probably forget it too by tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2: Isn't that kinda weird?

_Author's Note_: **_I don't mind flames, but I'd love to see nice reviews. I don't need any certain number of reviews to keep writing, so please enjoy._**

Chapter 2

Zack strode through the doors of The Tipton, and headed straight towards the candy bar. As Cody slowly followed after him, he saw where his brother was headed, then shaking his head slowly, headed up stairs to their suite. Maddie was sitting boredly at the candy desk, playing with her cell phone.

"Hmmm...Maybe the layout should be midnight..."

Zack's blonde head came into view, and Maddie's eyes drifted over to him.

_Oh God. Here he comes again. Poor kid._

Zack's smiling face shoved up over the candy bar.

"Hi Maddie! I'll buy a candy bar from you if your promise to go out with me."

Maddie gave him a stiff smile.

"I don't think so Zack. Bribing me for a date? Don't get so desperate, little man."

Zack frowned, his eyes looking full of hurt.

Maddie took one glance at him and gave him a derisive look.

"Don't try that with me Zack. Puppy eyes don't work on me."

Zack shook the face off and looked disappointed.

"Why won't you go out with me? I'm two years older now, you know."

Maddie knew. She had attended their fourteenth birthday a few months back, and it would've been a lot better with the cake Cody was smeared with. Something had happened she hadn't bother to ask about, and she knew it was probably Zack's fault, someway or the other.

"If you haven't noticed, I'm 2 years older too. I'm going to leave for college pretty soon, and I'm going to get a better job, Zack. I won't be here forever."

Zack considered what he knew was the truth, then waved bye to Maddie silently and headed upstairs to his room.

Maddie looked after him.

-_I really wish I didn't have to lay it thick on him, but it was coming, sooner or later.-_

Cody sat on the couch, waiting for Zack, and watched TV to pass the time. As Zack came in, Cody didn't even bother to look.

Cody had a teasing tone in his voice.

"Attempting to hit on Maddie again?"

Zack scowled.

"Oh, shut up. You're just sore because you don't have any crushes yourself."

Cody's eyes were suddenly narrowed, anger rising in his chest.

_You'd think that, wouldn't you, you jerk._

He suddenly felt someone's hand touching his hand he held the remote in. He looked straight into a mass of blonde locks with blue eyes leering at him. Zack gave Cody an inquiring look.

"Mind handing me the remote? I want to see what's on TV."

Cody had to stop himself from making his face flush.

"Uh, Sure. Here you go."

He handed Zack the remote and quickly turned away. Zack gave him a look of concern.

"Is everything...okay?"

Cody didn't look at him while he spoke.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I'm just tired from school."

Zack shrugged off his suspicion and clicked a button on the remote.


	3. Chapter 3: Goodbye, Maddie

Chapter 3

"No, Zack," Carrie sighed. She was sitting on the couch in their suite, and Zack was standing in front of her. Cody was at the island in the small kitchen, fixing his lunch for school tomorrow. He listened in as he worked. He had a good reason to.

"Please, Mom? It's a not a big deal you know, just a little color..." Zack trailed off, attempting to persuade his mother. Carrie shook her head and looked directly at him.

"Dying your hair is a sign that you're a rebel. I don't want people thinking I'm a bad parent," Carrie said in an authoritive tone. Zack tilted his head. Cody knew that tilt. Zack was going to think of some way to slip through the cracks again...

_If no one else can do it, you can do it, Zack, _Cody thought.

"What if we just dye...a teensy bit of it?" Zack said, his tone inquisitive but a little derisive beneath. Cody looked at Zack out the corner of his eye. Carrie had perked up.

"Well, I guess it's alright. You won't dye your whole head, now will you? So how will you dye it?" Carrie asked Zack, looking at him. Her eyes looked glazed, as if she were thinking hard. Zack and Cody almost smiled at the same time.

"Streaks?" Zack suggested?

"No."

"How about the tips?"

Carrie opened her mouth as if she were going to say no. Both the twins tensed up. Then Carrie shut her mouth slowly.

"Well, tips won't stand out that much. Just don't go dying it all colors of the rainbow," She said, looking back down at a novel she was reading.

"Yesss," Zack whispered loudly. He went over to Cody and gave him a high five, then grasped his brother's hand and pulled Cody's head towards his.

"Great idea, man. I didn't expect that out of you though," Zack whispered in Cody's ear. Cody only nodded. He felt his heart beating fast.

Later, in the lobby of The Tipton Hotel, Moseby stood at the candy bar along with Maddie and another girl, who looked a bit younger than Maddie. The twins came in running through the door, their hair now dyed. Zack had dyed the tips of his hair red, and Cody had his dyed black. They jumped over the stairs into the lobby, going straight to the candy bar. Mr. Moseby turned and gave them a caustic look.

"Please boys, I'm running a hotel here, not a playground. Don't just come galumphing in here," Moseby said in an agitated tone, reprimanding the twins. He directed their attention to Maddie with a wave of his hand.

"As you can see, Ms. Fitzpatrick is leaving her job here at The Tipton. And Miss Mahina will be taking her place at the candy bar," Moseby said, pointing to the girl.

She was Polynesian, dark brown curly hair partly covering her face. She wore a light blue dress with tropical flower designs. Most of all, she had green eyes. She faintly smiled at the twins, looking a little nervous. Zack sighed, sad to see Maddie go, but Cody smiled back at Keilani. Maddie smiled too.

"This is Keilani Mahina, guys. She's from Hawaii. She left her parents to come up here and live with her uncle. She's a pen pal of mine, and she's been waiting to take this job position. She also wanted to see what America really looks like. Keilani, this is Zack and Cody," Maddie explained. Keilani only looked down and smiled. She was a bit shy.

Zack looked at Keilani. She was cute, but not as cute as Maddie. He sighed again. He looked up at Cody. Cody was also looking at Keilani, but he looked at her like the way he looked at a good book. Zack fell like falling into a void of never ending darkness.

Mr. Moseby looked back and forth from the twins to Keilani. He then broke the silence.

"Would anyone mind giving Miss Mahina a tour of the hotel?" He said in a low voice.

"I wouldn't mind, Mr. Moseby," Cody said, perking up. Keilani's head soon lifted up, fully showing her face. She was very pretty indeed. She bowed slightly to Cody.

"_Mahalo_. Thanks. I'd enjoy a tour of an American hotel," she said quietly. Her voice was like a small stream gliding over rocks. It had a soothing tone. Cody smiled. Zack just turned away, appearing to be interested in some newly arrived guests. Zack felt someone nudge him. He turned around and looked at his brother.

"Don't be so sulky. Maddie will come back to The Tipton for visits, you know," Cody whispered, trying to comfort Zack. Zack only nodded.

But Maddie's departure was not the reason for why he was so sad.


	4. Chapter 4: Torn and Confused

_Author's Note:_ **_I love all your enthusiastic reviews! I'm going to give you more recent updates for the holidays. I'm trying to cram this in between exams._**

Chapter 4

Zack sat at the lunch table near his many friends, and a few girls too. Everyone at his table was talking, all looking happy and carefree, save for him. Girls talked and buzzed in his ear, flirting and trying to get his attention. He acted as if they weren't even there. He was staring a few tables away, at Cody and Keilani laughing and talking together. He sighed, the first sound he had made all day.

It had been two weeks since Maddie left and Keilani arrived. Zack was hardly ever with Cody, only at breakfast, dinner, and bedtime. He hardly ever saw him at school either, save for classes. Cody was hanging out with Keilani a lot now, and hardly ever spoke to Zack. Zack never saw hide nor hair of Cody in-between classes, although he did get a glimpse of blonde and black hair when he went through the hallway where Keilani's locker was. Zack had also stopped coming up with fun little schemes. The Tipton was unusually quiet during the whole two weeks, and everyone noticed. Zack was acting weird, and everyone kept coming up with guesses why. Zack felt incomplete without his twin brother hanging around him. He just felt very lonely, even though many people always surrounded him.

Because Zack was acting quiet and looked so apathetic, he became more popular at school. Everyone thought it was cool, the way he didn't say anything or showed no emotion. Even more people began gathering around him. Zack didn't care. He was so caught up with missing his brother, he completely forgot about Maddie.

Keilani was getting a little popular herself, being new and all. The only time Zack didn't see her with Cody was in his Literature class, the only class he had with Keilani. She actually did talk to him in class, and he really did listen. Her voice was sweet to listen to; she always teamed up with Zack on group assignments. Zack knew why Cody liked her so much; he liked her a little too. But only as a really good friend.

One day, Zack and Keilani both took a group project together. They had to research a poet they would select on their own. Keilani was writing down brainstorm ideas.

"Hmm, I bet about half of everyone in the class will pick Edgar Allen Poe. How about Rudyard Kipling?" She wrote his name down. Zack noticed her writing was more of calligraphy than big and bubbly like most girls' writing.

"Eh, He's okay. Didn't he write Alice in Wonderland or something?" Zack thought out loud. Keilani laughed.

"That's Lewis Carroll. But we can put him down too, he's pretty good. I think Kipling wrote the Jungle Book," Keilani said, her hand gliding swiftly over the paper. Zack watched her as she wrote. Her hands were so delicate, the fingers were long and willowy, he wanted to hold them... Zack shook himself. What was he thinking?_ Cody likes Keilani, not me. And I like... _Zack paused in thought. He wasn't sure who he liked. The bell rung, and Keilani looked over her shoulder; she turned to look back at Zack.

"Zack, mind if we go to your suite to work on this? I'll bring a poster. We can turn it in early and have free time," Keilani whispered as she began to gather up her books. Zack laughed mentally in his mind. _Getting done early with projects? He'd never done anything like that. But free time meant more time to hang around..._

"Sure, I've never really tried finishing early. I'm more of the last-minute procrastinator," Zack said, smiling. Keilani put her hand over her mouth, trying to stifle her laughter.

"You're so funny! See you this afternoon," She called as she walked away, her hair swishing as she turned abruptly. As Zack walked out of the classroom, he saw Keilani walking off with Cody. He must've been waiting for her. As Zack watched them go, Cody suddenly turned his head and stared at Zack for a second. He turned around and kept on walking and talking with Keilani. Zack paused. He thought he saw fire in Cody's eyes for a minute, which was a bit scary. He shook it off and walked to his next class.

Zack sat on the couch, playing videogames in front of the TV. His book bag lay on the floor untouched, where he had thrown it down. He paused the game and turned around as he heard the knocker on the door. He got up and brushed himself off, then went to the door and looked out the small peeping hole. Keilani was there, waiting. Strangely, she was alone. He wondered where Cody was. He also wondered why she wasn't holding the poster she promised to bring. He opened the door and let her in, where she strode silently. He closed it behind her. Zack felt completely confused.

"Keilani, where's the..." he said, stopped in midsentence. He suddenly felt himself pressed against the wall, a tanned hand on his cheek. He felt her tongue in his mouth. It stayed like that for a minute or two, and then they both parted. They were both silent. Zack looked at Keilani. She had a troubled look in her eyes. She opened the door and raced out, gone in a flash. Zack slid down the wall and sat in a slump on the floor, trying to figure out what had just happened. A few minutes passed before the door opened again and Cody walked in. He looked around, then saw Zack, who could see the fire in Cody's eyes. Zack knew he couldn't find a way out of this one.

"Where's Keilani?" Cody asked in a voice his brother had never heard before. Zack began shaking his head, placing his hand on his forehead underneath the golden and red locks.

"She was just here, I think..." Zack trailed off, trying to avoid his brother's gaze. He looked up, and Cody had his eyes narrowed.

"Why was she here? What did you do?" Cody questioned and accused. Zack felt like he was under attack. _Why did Cody automatically think **I **did something?_

"We're supposed to be working on a Literature project together. She wanted to get finished early..." Zack was cut off by a cold laugh from Cody.

"You? Get finished early? Tell the truth. If she was just here, why'd she leave so fast?" Cody's gaze turned to fire again. Zack felt as if his own brother were burning a hole through him. Zack stood up.

"Look, I don't know, okay. Get your crazy little girlfriend under control," Zack rebutted, his tone scathing. The room was silent until Cody spoke.

"Why are you always trying to steal the girl I like away from me? First the play, now this..." Cody accused. Zack cut in.

"I didn't even do anything!"

"Oh really? I saw the way you guys were in English. The prettiest girls in school want to go out with you. Why don't you just leave me and Keilani alone?"

"I never messed with you in the first place! You act like you own her! What are you going to say next? That you saw her first?"

"No, I don't own Keilani. Just stop trying to steal her away from me, Zack."

"I don't even like her! I like.."

The room was very silent, their yells and shouts echoing across it.

"...I like you," Zack said. Zack thought his brother would look surprised and shocked, or even disgusted. Instead, Cody's gaze softened. He faltered as he talked.

"I...I like you too, Zack...but I like Keilani, too. It's so confusing," Cody sighed. Zack couldn't believe it. His brother felt the same way he did. Torn and confused between two loves. Zack fessed.

"Cody...when Keilani came here...she cornered me and kissed me, then she left. That's why she was here and gone so fast," Zack said a little cautiously, wondering what Cody might do. Cody just laughed.

"She cornered me the same way two days ago. I think we all feel the same way," Cody said, smiling. Zack began to smile too, and they both started laughing.


End file.
